Angsty April, Merry May 2012
by SailorCopperOwl
Summary: A collection of stories written for the LJ Angsty April vs. Merry May challenge. Senshi/Shitennou, Mamoru/Shitennou, or just Shitennou
1. Go

**Angsty April**

**Prompt: "I didn't stop loving you, you just stopped noticing it."**

**A/N: This is a prequel to a story I'm currently writing. So, if you like it, and want to know more about Karl and his friends who have the same problem, there's going to be more ;)**

* * *

"You have to go. This man is dangerous."

"How am I supposed to leave you now that you need me the most? I can't go."

"You can't help me with this. This is something I need to settle with myself, and I don't want you to get caught in it."

"I don't believe you're doing this to me and the little one, Karl. How can you choose evil and the thirst for revenge over us?"

"Damnit, Amelie, I didn't get to choose this! No one chooses to be a schizo with a split personality! It's not like I'm having fun all day here at the psychiatric hospital. I don't exactly ask to be caught in this situation."

"Yes, you do! The doctor says you're welcoming it, you're not fighting it at all. You don't work along in therapy, and you brag so much about this guy. What is the reason for this, Karl? All your life you've been trying to do the right thing. Live green, climb up chimneys of atomic plants, get your ass in the way of evil. And now you're telling me that suddenly the most important thing is to be evil, to do wrong, to kill imaginary people in your head? What the hell, Karl, why are you throwing away your life for this?"

"I told you I don't have a choice. But the only way to come out of it is to go through it to the end. Leaving all the dangling ends is what got me into the last relapse. This time, I'm not backing out. I'll fight it through."

"Karl, you don't fight. It's all in your head, and you let it happen."

"And how do I escape my own head, can you tell me that? Kunzite is in my head, and he's not going to go away unless he's done with what he has to do, and I'm in this, and you've seen what happened to me the last time I didn't play along."

"That's no reason why I can't be there for you. That's no reason at all for sending me away. Karl... why isn't our love strong enough for this? Why aren't we fighting through this together? Where did it go wrong? When did you stop loving me?"

"I never stopped loving you! You just stopped noticing it!"

"Must be the funny way you have showing it! Hiding yourself behind this ghost in your head, wiggling out of the family thing the moment it doesn't meet your precious expectations!"

"That's not the reason, Amelie, I swear, none of you has anything to do with it. Don't look at me like this. I'm serious. I love you both, and I don't want to see you again as long as this guy can take over my head any time and make me do something terrible.

Amelie, please. Kunzite is dangerous. You know that our baby is the most important thing in the world for me. And I can deal with being crazy, and losing what makes my life, but I couldn't deal if anything happened to her through all this. She's the reason I haven't hung myself when this started. She's the reason why I can put up with all this. So, please, take her away, keep her safe, raise her to be a fine girl and make me proud."

"If we're leaving now, we're not going to come back."

"I know. Please go."


	2. Neuschwanstein

**Merry May**

**Prompt: Neuschwanstein**

**Own prompts: Ami and Karl**

**A/N:This is another sidestory to the "Kunz and friends"-verse of the first chapter. It takes place two years later, when Karl and his friends were trying to get a grip of their now relatively Shitennou-free time, when Mamoru hears about them and makes contact. A lot of things will have to have happened before they all can have fun together, but eventually, something like this is going to happen. Rated T for immature topics of conversation. Oh, and the kitty ears? I'm not really into the kitty ear thing, but there are lots of pics on tumblr recently of Ayaka Komatsu's new nekomimi thingies.**

**About the characters: Just assume that everyone whose name you don't recognize from PGSM is a former member of the Dark Kingdom. Really don't want to give spoilers here - sorry!**

* * *

Of course, as Japanese tourists in Germany, Minako, Usagi and Mamoru had to be taken to see Neuschwanstein castle.

Of course Usagi wouldn't be able to visit Neuschwanstein without raiding the souvenir stand.

Then she made them all sign cards for pretty much everyone she knew.

Karl pretended not to take note of everyone signing that certain card for a certain person.

"You, too, Karl!" said Usagi cheerful and held the postcard and the ball pen in his direction.

He shook his head. "I'll have to pass this one."

"But why?" asked Usagi.

He smiled a little lopsided smile. "Me sending kitschy postcards to Mizuno-san? Not the kind of trouble I should get myself into."

The raised eyebrow Minako gave him told him that trouble wouldn't even begin to describe it.

"He's right, Usagi," said Mamoru. "You know what a problem Kunzite's backstory with Ami still is."

Usagi shook her head.

"But he's not him! And everyone signed! Nenad too! It's not like it's a private message or so. And we won't tell anyone about it."

"Perhaps I should," grinned Hannah. "My parents are still frothing around the mouth because they couldn't get anything pervert stick to you. Sign it, Kunz. You're not him, you heard the princess."

Karl sighed and looked up to the tall towers of the castle, and the mountains around them. Her colors were everywhere, in the mountains, in the sky and the clouds...

"No, Hannah. Not this time. Not because of your parents. But Mizuno-san has parents, too."

"Aw, Kunz, drop the protective ex-boyfriend attitude," said Marina. "That's Nenad's job."

"Exactly," growled Nenad. "And now sign the damn thing. She's not going to drop dead. You're giving yourself way too much credit. She doesn't even know you. You're just a random German guy who has some pretty crazy delusions about himself."

Karl gave him a cold look.

"Unlike anyone else we know."

"Sign the card, Kunz," said Nenad. "You're an ass if you don't. You can't be the only one of us who doesn't talk to her."

Karl still hesitated, but then he took the pen.

"But only this one time."

"Then you better cram in some congratulations for her birthday, too," said Heikko and snickered. "Because we're all going to write her for her birthdays. Come on, write it. 'Have some nice underage birthday. Talk to you when you're old enough not to make me a total pervert.' Hey, we can get Nenad to sign that, too. How about we get you two your own card?"

Karl put the pen down, and for a moment, Usagi was certain he would never sign the card for Ami now. But as it turned out, Heikko knew Karl way better. Unimpressed by Karl's grumpy stare, he pulled a few cards out of a paper bag. Usagi wasn't the only one who was into souvenirs.

"If you need cards, I have some nice ones. Look at this, Kunz, the castle in winter, all snowy, in blue and white. She'll LOVE it, and she'll never forgive you how much she'll love it. No, wait, take this one. The Kini himself. That'll be perfect. 'Hey baby, I'm as crazy as they get, and look at my long black boots, and my uniform with the Mandarin collar, and my long coat, and may I interest you in my pretty sword, and did you know I'm gay'? Now who does that remind us of?"

Karl sneered.

"Just because I'm gay for you doesn't mean I'm gay. Everyone's gay for you."

Usagi's breath stopped for a second, but no one paid her attention. Even Minako who usually was able to keep a straight face at everything had turned into a glass eyed statue.

"Not us," protested Hannah.

"But we have been known to be a bit bi for Heikko from time to time," purred Marina.

Heikko blew her a kiss, and grinned at Karl, his blue eyes glittering with mischief.

"So, the King it is then? Or do you want the cards with the puppies and kittens? Look, I've got both. In pastel!"

"What. The. Hell," said Karl heavily, when he was done flinching. "Were. You. Buying. Pastel. Colored. Kitty Neuschwanstein postcards. For?"

Heikko gave him his sweetest smile. "Because they were cute. See?"

He cutely cocked his head to the side, holding a kitten themed Neuschwanstein castle postcard next to his face.

"Squeeeeeeeeeeee..." Usagi couldn't help herself.

"I was thinking it would look nice in our kitchen," said Heikko, batting his eyelids at Karl. "So we can remember our trip here every day."

"If you ever bring one of these cards into my house, you'll eat them."

"I wouldn't have to if you sent them to Mercury. She'll never perceive you as a threat ever again after that. You'll be her pervert fluffy puppy ex-something for all times, and it'll even be_ cute_. Or you could be the pervert fluffy kitty ex-something, maybe Luna will spank you with her fan for it. Now that would be cute, wouldn't it?"

"Stop it already, Heikko, you're disgusting," said Karl.

"Aw, come on, I bet you're secretly a cat person. You know what we'll do? You put on some kitty ears, and we make that into a card for Mercury. If that won't erase any bad memories she has of you, then nothing will."

Karl sighed deeply and gave Mamoru a look of resentment.

Mamoru wasn't certain if he should take sides in this, and the blush on Usagi's face when Heikko had mentioned the kitty ears was too adorable, so he tried for: "In that case, you should perhaps all wear them."

The hiss when both Usagi and Minako gasped for air was worth all the dreadful revenge the former Dark Kingdom would take on him. 'The Shitennou with kitty ears on Neuschwanstein' would be a memory for life, even if it only happening in their heads. Yet.

Then, a giggle fit felled all the girls, and to Mamoru's surprise, Nenad, too.

Only Heikko and Karl were still locked in their duel, staring each other down.

"Me in cat ears, Kunz," purred Heikko. "And then I'll tell everyone you made me wear them for the kink of it."

"All the wishful thinking in the world again, hm? Do you forget she's not the only one who's pervert fluffy ex-something I am?" asked Karl and raised a sarcastic eyebrow, but it was clear that he was done for. He took the pen and the card that everyone had signed, and meticulously wrote down his name.

Karl Kuhn.

"She shouldn't have to deal with this again," he sighed.

"None of us should, but we all do, so stop whining. Hey, what's this? Come on, you can't be serious. You never sign anything with your full name, not even for business. And where's the love, peace and happiness shit you ALWAYS do, even if they threaten to keep you in jail if you don't properly sign yourself out?"

"I can't send her love, peace and happiness."

"Why not? It's what makes it you. It's nothing Kunzite would do."

For a moment, Kunz grinned. "Ha! There's nothing he wouldn't do, believe me. But it is a nice thought though. I'll make sure to try it out next time."

"Make sure we get to see it or it doesn't count."

"You bet Kunzite won't do anything that brilliant without an audience."

And with one deep sigh, Karl took the pen again, and added a nice little chain of flowers, like he had done it hundreds of times in his life, and the words:

"Peace, Kunz"


	3. Never stop loving

**Challenge: Merry May on LJ Shitennou Ai**

**Prompt: Never stop loving (and a box of chocolate)**

**This is somehow a follow-up of my Advent Drabblender-verse, mashed up with a bit of Night-Jade-verse. **

**The chocolate prompt of another day of the Merry May challenge somehow made its way in here too. I might not be good at fluff, but it can never be wrong to have more chocolate in a story.**

* * *

The hormones.

Rei hated that remark. When you had spent the morning puking, while some small children visciously sought your attention and some bigger children decided to have a small children phase, too, anyone would be cranky, hormones or no. When you had a pointless debate with your husband over who had forgotten to do what, or with your nanny about teaching the kids human language before youma howls, when you let your kids wander out of the house wearing striped socks with checkered pants and differently striped t-shirts that made crazy afterpictures dance on your retiny from looking at them and you just couldn't bring yourself to care, even when you saw that one of them wore his brother's shoes, because you were just so happy that they were all finally through their chicken pox, then hormones were the least of your problems.

She didn't need all that understanding when they asked about her pregnancy.

She didn't need the pityful looks on her friends' faces when she snatched the whole box of chocolates and started inhaling them like only Usagi had been seen doing.

Perhaps coming here to their weekly senshi tea had been a mistake, somehow, all that happy mommy chatter got on her nerves today. At least the chocolate was good. Even better as it was the first thing today that stayed down.

"And now that the twins are older, they're asking so many questions!" laughed Ami.

"Of course, they want to be clever like their mommy," smiled Usagi.

Iolite is clever, thought Rei. But she couldn't come up with an example right now that didn't involve a spellbreaker or Uncle Kunzite Having A Word with her, so she thought she better kept it to herself.

"Aw, wait til they hear about transformations," laughed Makoto. "Motoki told Kameko when we have a thunder storm, it's me doing it. Ever since then, she wants to hear everything about transformations. We even strung up a transformation bracelet for her so she can pretend she's a senshi."

"Hahaha, Chibi-Usa did that too at that age! We gave her a locket and a tutu, and she was so adorable when she twirled and tried to transform! And then she discovered that Luna had an even better transformation, and then she wanted a Luna cosplay! You remember her in that, do you? And ah, how many questions she asked!"

"My kids a lot of questions, too," said Rei. "How far I could throw fire, how hot it was, how many enemies I could kill with it..."

A little pause set in, and Rei shrugged it away. "Well, boys and fire... and I'm only exaggerating a little bit so they don't lose respect of the element. I have yet to raise one kid with eyebrows staying on all the time, but you have to admit, they do singe themselves some funky hairdo sometimes, especially Mesolite."

At least Minako grinned.

Rei took some more chocolate.

After that, the topic changed suspiciously quickly.

Now they talked about singing. How their kids never grew tired of it. How Carmen had the most angelic voice. How all those songs the girls sang brought back so many memories.

Rei thought of Jadeite who had taught himself to play the guitar to sing with his kids, and how much fun they had making what even a loving mother could only call a lot of noise. Of Tanzanite who drank in any kind of sound with big eyes, couldn't pass anything that could be drummed on without banging a rhythm out of it, and who had as a baby meticulously practised and perfected his cries into mindscattering screams, which was admirable in a way and clearly an artistic skill, albeit in a sadly underrated genre.

She took another handful of chocolates.

Obviously, someone had made it 'harmless cute adorable day' today. Great. Ah, there was another layer of chocolate underneath, perhaps the day could be saved.

The classic - missing socks.

Rei didn't even bother to contribute to it. She had lost the single sock struggle a long, long time ago, even after allowing Jadeite to conjure up a youma to keep track of them which had only led to the boys feeding that unholy thing socks right off their wiggling little feet because one of them had declared this to be the coolest thing ever after Jadeite had joked that the youma might as well nibble a toe off. Okay, Morganite had made an end to that. But she really didn't want to talk about Morganite now.

She took more chocolate.

Oh, of course, baking cakes. So adorable when the girls put on their ruffled aprons to help mummy bake a cake.

My kids are super at cakes, thought Rei. "Cakes sure are popular with all kids, ne?" she said. "Mine always rush to the kitchen when someone starts making something edible. And they've become so good at teamwork since Mesolite knocked out two of his front teeth fighting over The Mixing Of The Dough and biting the table when he tried to jump into the mixing bowl from the next counter. Tethys threw the royal flush of fits. We really haven't had much trouble in the kitchen ever since."

Some feeble laughter followed.

Hey, this is one of our funniest stories, thought Rei. Jadeite and I laughed our butts off once the bleeding stopped. And don't snub at my housekeeper, you all got yourself help. Where's the dark chocolate gone?

Next topic, dressing up.

Rei smiled when she thought of her boys dressed up as heroes fighting for justice, and how, no joke, the very first word that little Azurite had spoken as a baby, had been "henshin". How his brothers had taught little Azurite to gnaw on their arms when he was teething and had even built him little Kivato vampire bat wings to wear while doing so. Rei had DIED laughing, esp when Azu-kun's little pointy baby teeth had actually come out and he had been able to bite his brothers quite realistically.

She took a breath to start telling them something along the lines of "The boys as Kamen Riders are so cool, and you wouldn't believe the pitch of their screams when they made Azurite bite them over and over again", but decided she'd rather bite another chocolate instead.

And now it was about everything adorable again, especially twins, and how Kameko and Carmen looked so cute when wearing the twin's old toddler dresses.

Twins, decided Rei, would be hell. She could see it with Aragonite and Dolomite who were so close in age that they were constantly fighting each other over who could come up first with anything. Rei wondered how Ami did it, keep the twins out of each other's hair. Surely the twins would have at least some of Nephrite's temper? What kind of game was this?

And now it was all about wanting to be like mommy, making mommy proud, being a well-mannered girl, and all the things that Rei had overkilled herself to be when she once had been an unhappy, unhappy girl.

Suddenly, Rei realized that she was crying. She hadn't even registered when it had begun. But now she was sobbing, snorting phlegm, and tears were streaming over her face.

"Ah, at that time of pregnancy, I was very emotional, too," said Makoto sympathetically.

"No!" sobbed Rei. Okay, she yelled. She shouldn't yell. She wanted her friends to understand this one. She tried to explain through her sobs.

"It's just that I love them so," she blurted out. "You have all these amazing stories about your daughters to tell, and it's always about how cute and adorable and pretty they are, and how they always want to be like mommy, and how they are so much like you, and how they resemble you, and how people talk about inheritance and female lineage and beauty and power and all that. And I can't compete with that. I don't have a cute daughter, I don't have cute stories. My kids aren't princesses. They're shitennou-shaped agents of chaos, and I know how everyone says how they're such a wild bunch. I'll probably never have stories about ruffled aprons and lacy dresses, and sometimes I feel like I'm raising a horde of orcs when I talk to you, but I'm so happy to have them. I know I'm always telling you I want at least one little girl, but it's bullshit. I wouldn't trade any of my boys in for a little girl."

"Of course not," agreed everyone, but Rei found that a bit lame, except probably for Usagi who genuinely loved the boys' adventures.

Rei still couldn't stop crying, and the words just poured out of her like her tears.

"Every day, I sit at the table and look around and think how incredible lucky I am. I've never laughed so much in my life. I've never been loved so much in my life. I've never had so many happy thoughts. I love my orc horde! I wanted them all, I love them, and I'll never stop loving them!"

Now Usagi was crying, too, taking Rei into one of her tight hugs.

"Of course you love them," sobbed Usagi. "They're wonderful!"

And Minako who didn't easily cry grinned her most lopsided grin. "Don't forget that we all have a chief orc at home and that our pretty little princesses have a ton of orc blood."

Now Rei laughed and cried at the same time, and hiccuped on top of it.

"Speak for yourself, my man is flawless," protested Makoto.

"For an orc," grinned Minako.

"I don't know, Zoisite always struck me more as the Yeti type," snickered Ami.

They laughed the whole afternoon like they were silly teenagers again. And when Usagi came up with another box of chocolate, Rei even let the others have some. Provided the told a story of parental embarassment first, and it turned out they could do that all very well.

- the end -

* * *

**A/N: I know that it is kind of weird to write about a mother in the defensive posision because she has sons when it's the other way round almost everywhere in the world. But this story has a bit of a background.**

**Lately, there have been posts popping up on tumblr that celebrate the extreme gender segregation in Sailor Moon - boys on one side, girls on the other with little to no interaction between sides - as a great feminist thing.**

**Oh, well. Now I'm old enough to remember the times before Sailor Moon and Buffy, and how disgustingly normal woman bashing was the moment a woman gained strength. But I'll never be comfortable with the segregated worlds solution, which made me think that this could be one of the reasons I love Senshi-Shitennou stories - and besides, where do the little boys in Crystal Tokyo come from? The stork? **

**Or perhaps I just think it would be bizarrely funny for Rei to have the maximum shitennou-shaped male experience after living life among females in PGSM ;)**


	4. Sweet love

**Inspired by the chocolate prompt and the famous cookie scene in PGSM**

* * *

_Nephrite would love that._

Ami stopped dead in her tracks, looking into the window of the little patisserie.

No, she told herself. You don't know that. You want him to like that. Just because he once liked your cookies, you don't have to go looking for food for him all those years after he died...

* * *

"Hi Motoki-kun..."

Motoki was sweet enough to pretend he didn't know what she had come for, and Ami was nice enough to pretend not to see that he waited until there were no customers around before they started into their familiar ritual.

"Ah, Ami-chan, what is it today? Oh, chocolate! I love chocolate!"

"Take one! This package was so cute, and I can't eat it all. Please, help me with it."

"My pleasure!" beamed Motoki. "Let me see... hm, I think Nephrite would have started with the dark chocolate."

Ami watched him take a little dark chocolate heart and bite a little bit out of it.

"Mmmmm... delicious..."

He stuffed the rest of the little heart into his mouth and hummed with delight.

"Do you really think he would have liked it?" asked Ami, still a bit doubtful.

"Absolutely. Bittersweet. His favourite. Here, you need to try a sweet one. He would have liked to share them with you."

"Hm, they're really good. Do you think I bought the right ones then?"

"Yes, they're perfect."

A big smile appeared on Ami's otherwise always too serious face.

"Then I'm happy! Take them home and share them with Makoto, will you?"

"Oh thank you, Ami-chan, she'll love them!"

* * *

It was true that Motoki had gained weight over the last years. It was true that they all had, given that Tokyo was full of delicious things that Ami needed help eating after the next impulsive shopping.

But it was irresistable to see how happy she was when she had someone to feed.

Minako was the one who finally snapped.

"Mamoru, you bring back that guy for her before I burst out of my stage outfits and be the laugh of the idol world! Get her Nephrite or I guarantee for nothing!"

It was said that Aino Minako could be very convincing. Mamoru could clearly see why because she was also very scary.

"But I..." _...know that Nephrite is very happy where he is now and I don't even know in all detail how to go about bringing someone back from the dead and it would take some extreme and foolish measures and do you think your next foto book is reason enough for all that hassle?_

"NANI?"

There was Minko's stare, and there was also Usagi's pout. There was also the hope to wear his favourite motorcycling gear again.

"Nothing. I'll do it."

* * *

_Nephrite would love that._

_No. Nephrite will love that._

_Yes. He will_


End file.
